Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks is an American game developer and publisher founded in 1986 in Rockville, Maryland. In 1999, it was acquired by ZeniMax Media, due to the parent company's founding, and since 2001, the name was used only for publishing with the special "Game Studios" brand opened for development. Since 2009, Bethesda also serves as a publisher for other studios owned by ZeniMax, including id Software. In March 2021, Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media and all its subsidiaries, which it became a part of XBOX Game Studios.

1st Logo (1986-2000)

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Visuals: The name "BETHESDA SOFTWORKS" is written in a futuristic font.

Trivia: On Bethesda's official social pages, as shown here, the logo was modernized on July 30, 2026 for the company's 40th anniversary. The words "EST. 1986" were added above the lines on the right side of the logo. Furthermore, the holed cube from the current logo also received a retro-inspired look with lines taken from the logo.

Variants:

• On Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3, the logo is on a hockey puck within the game's title sequence.
• On Gridiron, the logo appeared within moving rainbow colors.
• On Wayne Gretzky Hockey for Amiga, the logo is on a space background, and a red grid forms before turning into the logo.
• On The Terminator 2029, the logo is seen from silver liquid.
• On Delta V, NCAA Road to the Final Four 2 and The Terminator: Rampage, the logo rotates on a space background, and "PRESENTS" is shown below the logo.
• On Burnout: Championship Drag Racing, the logo is shown on a green background, with a microprocessor chip zooming out.
• On two Elder Scrolls games, Daggerfall and Battlespire, the logo is on fire, with "PRESENTS" below the logo.
• On two Terminator games, Future Shock and SkyNET, the text is shortened to "BETHESDA".

Technique: Usually none, but games like Delta V have 3D animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on early games by the company like The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.

2nd Logo (2000-2010)

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  Fallout 3 (2008): The logo is on a computer screen, as it was on a projection slider.
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  Fallout: New Vegas (2010): The logo is on a canyon background.

Visuals: The Bethesda logo is revealed letter-by-letter. It is colored in gray with the first letter being red, and a superscript square to the left. The ZeniMax byline is wiped in below.

Trivia: The superscript square was used for the ZeniMax Media logo since the parent company founded in 1999, albeit placed on the right side of that logo.

Variants:

• From 2000 to 2001, a special animation was used with moving particles and transparent geometrical shapes, which formed the logo. This was seen on Sea Dogs and Magic & Mayhem II.
• On IHRA Drag Racing, the letters zoom into the logo, with the background in white, which is then followed by the intro movie.
• Sometimes, the logo is still.
• A colorless variant was spotted.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A dreamy soundtrack.

Availability: Seen on many games, for example The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

3rd Logo (October 19, 2010-)

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  Hi-Fi Rush (2023): The logo appears as a drawing. Both of the standard logo's sound effects are heard at the same time.

Visuals: There is a white holed cube running on a black field and stopping. Instantly, it all zooms out and the word "Bethesda" appears right to the cube, which turns 2D.

Variants:

• Occasionally, the colors are inverted, with a black holed cube on a white field.
• A 60fps version exists in Ghostwire: Tokyo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown.

Availability

Edit Table

Media Title	Platform(s)	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
Fallout: New Vegas	Windows, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360	October 19, 2010	Debut appearance
Brink	Windows, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360	May 10, 2011	Inverted version
Hunted: The Demon's Forge	Windows, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360	May 31, 2011
Rage	Mac OS X, Windows, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360	October 4, 2011	Inverted version
Dishonored	Windows, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360	October 9, 2012	Inverted version
The Elder Scrolls Online	macOS, Windows	April 4, 2014
Wolfenstein: The New Order	Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, XBOX 360, XBOX One	May 20, 2014	Inverted version
The Evil Within	Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, XBOX 360, XBOX One	October 14, 2014	Inverted version
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX 360, XBOX One	May 5, 2015	Inverted version
Doom	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One	May 13, 2016
Dishonored 2	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One	November 11, 2016	Inverted version
Prey	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One	May 5, 2017	Inverted version
Quake Champions	Windows	August 22, 2017
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One	September 15, 2017	Inverted version
The Evil Within 2	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One	October 13, 2017	Inverted version
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One	October 27, 2017	Inverted version
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus	Nintendo Switch	June 29, 2018	Inverted version
Rage 2	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch	May 14, 2019
Wolfenstein: Youngblood	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch	July 26, 2019
Doom 64	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch	March 20, 2020
Doom Eternal	Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX One, Stadia	March 20, 2020
Deathloop	Windows, PlayStation 5	September 14, 2021
Ghostwire: Tokyo	Windows, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S	March 25, 2022
Hi-Fi Rush	Windows, XBOX Series X/S	January 25, 2023	Inverted version

4th Logo (December 9, 2024-)

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Visuals: On a black background, the same holed cube from before appears in the center of the screen, glowing slightly and illuminating a slightly reflective floor. The camera zooms in subtly before the scene fades out. The screen cuts to the Bethesda logo in white, centered, with a registered trademark symbol next to the "a".

Variant: A zoomed-in version exists in Doom: The Dark Ages.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A three note ambient synth tune. As the cube fades out, a reversed piano chord blends into the synths, and a low piano note rings out once the screen cuts to the Bethesda logo.

Availability

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Media Title	Platform(s)	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle	PlayStation 5, Windows, XBOX Series X/S	December 9, 2024 (Windows and XBOX Series X/S) April 17, 2025 (PlayStation 5)	Debut appearance
Doom: The Dark Ages	PlayStation 5, Windows, XBOX Series X/S	May 15, 2025
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle	Nintendo Switch 2	May 12, 2026